


Heart Beats

by TinyDragonSnake



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Everything except Yooran Juzen and Seven/MC is Strictly Platonic, F/F, F/M, Hospitals, I'll add more tags as the story goes on, Lots of mentions of abuse and self harm, M/M, Nightmares, Platonic V/MC, Rehabilitation, Seriously this is basically fluff and sadness, Seven's real name, V and MC are best friends, V gets his damn surgery at some point, he is still blind most of this fic, spoilers for seven's route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:13:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9301523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyDragonSnake/pseuds/TinyDragonSnake
Summary: A collection of stories detailing MC and V's bonding moments in the hospital after the incident at Mint Eye.Spoilers for Seven's Route, After Ending, and both Secret Endings





	1. Medicated Angel

V chuckled at MC. She was still under heavy medication, and her body refused to cooperate with her. Many times she had dropped her fork trying to bring it up to her mouth.

"This is so annoying," She growled under her breath. V listened to her squirm around on her bed, slowly and sluggishly. " _Oh my god_ I am going to go hungry here!"

"I doubt that," The cyan haired man said. "Call for a nurse to feed you."

"V, I'm _grown_ , I don't wanna be fed like a _child_ ," MC huffed.

"Would you like to call Saeyoung and have him feed you?"

"Yes," She hummed. "Except I don't have my phone with me."

V reached over and patted what he assumed was her knee. MC giggled at the contact and tried squirming again. Soft fingers wrapped around his hand and pushed him away weakly. MC let her hand flop down afterwards, complaining about how little control of her body she had. V offered to feed her, and after a few minutes of prodding she allowed him a bit closer. The feeding was incredibly slow. He had to move as carefully as he could to avoid poking her in the eye or nose or face.

And that was how the last year had been spent. The two of them spent their days and nights in each other's company, talking and joking about their circumstances. Rarely did either of them bring up the exact incident. MC didn't like remembering the fear and anger she had felt as she tackled V to the ground. She couldn't care less about the physical damage Saeran had dealt to her. V meanwhile didn't want to confront his guilt just yet. He wanted to pretend it hadn't happened, or that it hadn't involved him.

"Did Jumin ever visit when I was under?" MC asked him after polishing off her dinner.

"He might have," V said. "We haven't spoken since he first visited me."

"Did you two get into a fight?"

"Something along those lines."

"Harsh," MC hummed. The machine she was hooked up to let out a whine, making the two of them jump.

"Modern medicine is amazing," V sighed.

"It is."

"Have you heard anything on your operation yet?" He asked.

V listened as MC shuffled around on her bed. The heart monitor beeped steadily, showing MC's heart was beating wildly. He figured it was likely an affect of the medication. The young woman sighed and flopped onto the mattress.

"They wanna put stem cells in me," She mumbled.

"That sounds like it will work," V told her. He'd read articles about how stem cells could repair damaged tissue.

"It might _not_ ," MC whimpered. "I mean, what if they botch it somehow?"

V simply held out his hand for her to grasp. More than once she had told him her fears. She didn't want any accidents to happen in the surgery, and if she couldn't prepare for all possibilities then how could she logically allow for it to happen. Her concerns and worries were valid, of course. But V wasn't worried. Jumin had ordered for the both of them to be given the best possible care and service possible. None of the staff dared to make any mistakes.

"I don't think they'll make a mistake," V whispered to her, squeezing her hand.

"But what if they _do_?" She whimpered, squeezing back.

"They won't, I promise," He said.

V squeezed her hand again, listening to her hard breathing, the heart monitor slowly gaining speed, the blood pumping machine whining and squeaking at times. The blue haired man didn't know how long he sat there. He only knew the sounds around them, coming from them. MC's hand went slack and fell from his hold. V only chuckled and leaned back in his seat. Sooner or later he'd have to ask for a room change so that him and MC wouldn't be apart.

"Mr. Kim?" A nurse called out to him. "I'm here to escort you back to your room."

V nodded and stood, waiting for the young woman to grab his arm and help lead him. He let his mind wander as they walked off, shutting the door ever so gently. MC had saved his life. She willingly took a shot that should have killed her just for him. V couldn't understand why. MC had everything she needed, she just needed to escape with Saeyoung and Saeran. But instead she was willing to give herself to keep him safe. As he found it funny; V was willing to destroy himself for Rika, his beautiful sun, and MC, a woman _he barely knew_ before their time in the hospital, was willing to do something similar just to keep the RFA together. The blue haired man could believe it when Saeyoung called her an actual angel.

Only an angel would give her life in exchange for his.


	2. Anger Born of Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC tells V about a nightmare she had.

"I had another nightmare last night," MC told him.

They had just polished off their lunch and were waiting for their daily visit from the Choi twins. V was rather happy that Saeran had made so much progress over the last year and a half. The redhead still hated him, and desperately wished he had died, but he was adjusting well under his brother's care.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"Yea," She mumbled.

It takes her several minutes to tell him the dream. During the moment of quiet, V simply listened to her twist and play with the blanket that covered her lower half. The sound of skin rubbing against fabric had really been intriguing to him the last month or so. The sounds of the hospital had captured his attention quite a lot for the past month or so. Feet shuffling on the ground, beds and carts being wheeled around, the soft murmur of wordless voices. It was peaceful and welcoming after the ordeal he had been through.

"Rika was in it," MC's soft voice brought him back to reality. Her tone is stone cold, but unlike Rika's, full of fear.

"She was?" Was the the only thing V could think of responding with.

"She hurt them, all of them," MC mumbled. Her heart monitor picked up her rapidly increasing heartbeat. Faintly the blue haired man could hear her breathing speed up as well. "She hurt the RFA."

"Go on," V gently encouraged her. Slowly, so as not to accidentally hit any cords near her body, he reached out. He felt MC grasp his hand tightly, small fingers playing with his own.

"Rika ordered followers to hurt them," MC said. Her voice was cracking as she struggled to speak. "She personally hurt Yoosung herself, and she just laughed about it."

V frowned as MC kept playing with his hand. Her movements were jerky and hard, and if she stilled for more than a few seconds she began to get jittery. What worried him was that her temperature kept fluctuating. She went from warm to cold to blazing hot in mere seconds. Bringing up his other hand, V snatched hers in both of his, gently squeezing them and lacing his fingers with hers.

"Breathe, take breaks if you must," he told her.

"Rika hurt them so much to just spite me," her voice had turned into a growl. She clenched V's hands hard, hard enough that she trembled. "Just because I helped stop her god awful paradise."

MC stopped. She was still trembling, but it was far different from her previous fear. Her skin was now much hotter than it had been, and her shaky hands were now slick with sweat. V tried to pull her closer or move closer, to wrap an arm around her. Neither of them budged, however. MC had gone stiff and V didn't want to risk pulling a cord.

"She said we _deserved_ it," MC growled out. V couldn't find any words to respond to her with. He only squeezed her sweat coated hands to counter the pressure of hers. "That it was _our_ faults, because we  _dared_ to _invade_ her paradise, because we _dared_ to _defy her wishes_ , because we _dared_ to keep having a _will to live_."

"MC," V mumbled out. What could he say? That Rika wouldn't dream of doing something like that to the RFA? He'd just be a fool to believe that; she hurt him and claimed to love him dearly. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for her to harm the RFA.

"She _hurt them_ and _laughed_ about it, V!" MC said. "And I was just _paralyzed_ and couldn't do _a damn thing to save them or protect them_!"

The heart monitor was beating wildly now. MC's skin was getting hotter and hotter, and it felt as if her hands were made of nothing but water at this point. V's breath caught in his throat as he realized just how much of a frenzy she'd worked herself into. Hurriedly he released her hands, his slipping from her grasp easily with how slicked with sweat they were. He stumbled over to the door and opened it.

"Nurse, nurse!" He cried out. "Someone please, my friend needs assistance!"

Within a few moments, someone was in the room and squirting sedatives into one of the tubes connected to her arm. The man was nice enough, explaining what he was doing to her and encouraging her to relax in her bed. V felt bad for calling someone in. MC let out tiny whines, weakly demanding to know why she was being drugged again.

"My angel!" Saeyoung cried out as he and Saeran burst into the room.

"She's high again," Saeran murmured. "Third time she's been high when we visited."

"Had nightmare, needed calming," MC huffed and pouted.

Saeyoung let out a whine of his own and loudly rushed over to her. Their semi-muffled noises of happiness filled the room. The redhead was given the basic premise of the nightmare, to which he whispered that he'd never allow such a heinous thing to happen.

V let out a tiny sigh of relief listening to the two of them. MC's nightmare was all but forgotten in the hurricane of puns, compliments, and sweet words Saeyoung showered her with. Still, V couldn't forget just how cruel that dream had been.

The Rika he knew, the one he met and fell in love with, was dead. She was dead the moment she decided to involve the RFA with her schemes. One could even argue and say that she died when she brainwashed Saeran. The longer he thought about the dream, the more he worried.

Rika had no trouble pretending around others. She could conceivably gather more followers, convince them to attack the RFA, before personally harming her own cousin. He didn't want to think that she would. Rika was his beloved Sun, after all. She could do no wrong, some of the time. She was terribly ill, but she was getting help. Deep in his heart V wanted to believe that soon the two of them would be reunited and they'd go back to the way things were.

Somewhere in the the back of his mind, defying the wishes of his heart, his mind screamed at him. It screamed that if he went after her once more, was _with_ _her_ again, then MC's _nightmare_ just might have an easier time becoming a horrific _reality_.


	3. Little Orchid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC tells V about a childhood memory of hers.

"Tell me something about your childhood."

It wasn't a question, but at the same time it wasn't a demand. MC had every chance to tell him no. She didn't need to share anything if she didn't want to. In place of denial, the young woman simply giggled and shifted around on her bed. V reached out and grasped her open hand. She gave it a squeeze and giggled again.

"I could tell you a million things about my childhood, V," She hummed.

"Tell me something sweet then," He chuckled.

"Something sweet," MC sighed. It took her some moments to speak again. "When I was four, I got hurt."

"How?"

"I fell out of a tree," She snickered. "Anyway, I fell and I bruised my arms."

"Well, it must've hurt," V said, squeezing her hand.

"It did!" MC said. Her voice was excited and light, a stark contrast to the way she'd been the last some days. "I ran up to my mom crying like a newborn!"

V let out a small laugh along with her. He could imagine a small MC running up to a woman, holding out her arms with tears streaming down her face. Of course, he had nothing to compare the image in his head to. The little girl he imaged, while adorable, was most likely not what MC looked like at all.

"When I got up to her, she asked me 'My little orchid, what's wrong?', and all I could say was that I fell from super high up," MC said. "She laughed and picked me up, hugging me close and saying, 'Mi-ran, you're so very lucky you weren't hurt more, you have to be more careful of things way high up'."

"Your mother sounds very wise," V said. He leaned forward and brought her hand up to his forehead.

"She's more wise than I think she even realizes," MC hummed. "She said I have to be careful of going up too high."

"Reasonable, considering you hurt yourself," V teased.

"I know, and I knew the risks when I climbed up that tree," She told him. "And climbing that tree is like going through life."

"Oh?" V pulled away from her a bit. "How so?"

"In life, the people you interact with, are like the tree branches," MC said. "The more valuable a person is, either to you or society or both, the higher up on the tree their branches are."

"And what about the branches of the RFA?" V asked. It was a playful question, and he didn't expect her to answer at all.

"You're all really high up," she whispered. "Saeyoung is the highest branch, like one of those really thin ones way at the top, and Saeran is right next to him, and Yoosung and Zen are under them, and Jumin and Jaehee are just a tiny bit below them."

"What about me?" V whispered.

"You're up there too," MC giggled. "But, you're clustered around my parents and my sisters."

V felt himself warm up at those words. MC considered him to be part of her family, if what she said was true. It made him happier than he would admit to anyone else. It made him happier than the idea of marrying his beloved Sun! He listened to MC's tiny giggle, and felt himself nearly burn at her compliments of his smile and happy face.

"So your name is Mi-ran?" He steered the conversation. From the groan MC gave, she didn't like her name much.

"Yea, it is," She sighed. The sound of something flopping to the bed echoed for a split moment.

"Why do you go by MC?" He asked.

"Why do you go by V?" She countered.

The two couldn't hold back their laughs. V's was quiet and subdued, but quite obvious and visible, while MC's was loud and boisterous. V found her laugh pretty. It wasn't beautiful by any means, unless you asked Saeyoung then her laugh was the sound of Heaven opening up. To the blue haired man, her laugh was like wind. Something nice and comforting and relaxing and sweet, but it was something you don't see as being noticeable until its howling in your ear.

"What's your name?" She asked. "You know mine, tell me yours."

"It's Jihyun," he whispered.

"Nice name."

"As is yours."

"Hey, Jihyun?" MC hummed.

"Yes, Mi-ran?" He hummed back.

"You, and the RFA," her voice was light and somewhat dreamlike. "You're heights I'm happy a took a risk for."

V smiled and pulled her hand up to his forehead again. Their fingers entwined and he gave her a light squeeze. Of course she'd be like that. MC, Mi-ran, was a risk taker. She willingly walked into an apartment because of some random text from a stranger. She stayed in said apartment with a bomb. She stayed by Saeyoung's side even as they were nearly killed or worse. She had knocked V down and took a shot from a gun just to keep him from further harm. Even now, Mi-ran refused to turn him away, even when his longest friend had seemingly turned his back on him.

MC had fallen asleep not long after. Her breathing was light and her skin felt pleasantly warm. V wanted to imagine the dream she was having. He wanted to believe she was climbing that tree of life, reaching as high as possible, trying to grasp branches carved with the names of the RFA, holding them as tight as possible so as not to fall and hurt herself. Clinging onto the branches with the names of her family, the one with his name cluttered with them. The idea of such a dream was nice, and he desperately wanted to share something so wonderful with someone he cared about. He loved the idea of MC making him forget all his hurt and pain as they just spent their days talking. V slipped into a nicer dream than he'd had in quite some time, settled in his chair at her bedside.

The only contents of the dream he was able to remember when he woke up was MC beside him, with Saeyoung hugging her close with the RFA not far away from them, relaxing under the shade of a large tree, the wind blowing ever so sweetly, almost calling out "Jihyun~" as it sped past his ears.


	4. Get Together with a Clipped Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The RFA pays a visit to MC and V.

It was almost like a dream come true for V. All the RFA, in one room again, happy and chatting and enjoying life. Zen and Jumin were arguing. About what, no one really knew. Jaehee was sighing repeatedly and begging MC to call in a nurse to shut them up. Saeran and Yoosung were off in a corner somewhere, playing mobile games and presumably glaring at V. Saeyoung and V were at MC's side. V had a hand on her bed, occasionally sticking out a finger to prod at his friend's side to keep track of where she was. Saeyoung had clambered into the bed and was now laying next to her. His arm was thrown over her stomach and his head was tucked under her chin. The two lovebirds didn't say much to each other. It was mostly just quiet words of relief and sighs of joy. From time to time Saeyoung asked her if she was comfortable; wires weren't misplaced, he wasn't on the tubes in her arm, he was indeed very warm and comfortable, her heart is beating just fine.

"I nearly forgot!" Jaehee had exclaimed.

"Forgot what?" MC's lazy whine bubbled out of her.

"Forgot this," Jaehee huffed as something opened. Saeyoung let out a hard bark of laughter that shook the bed.

"It's a big ass cup of coffee, V," MC told him.

"Hand me some of those," Jaehee all but ordered MC.

"For the last time, no!" MC groaned. "I need my sedatives."

"A tiny drop."

"She's only acting like that because you're such an ass boss!" Zen hollered. V grunted in annoyance and moved to rest his head on the bed as well.

"I doubt that Assistant Kang was being serious," Jumin's deep rumble countered.

"Shut up before you get us kicked out!" Saeran's angered voice snarled out. V smirked hearing Yoosung's giggle at the other man's words.

"MC, when are you gonna get your surgery?" The blonde asked.

"Sometime next month," she answered. "Last they told me, they're still harvesting stem cells."

"It still sounds creepy," V mumbled to her.

"Creepy, but lifesaving," MC hummed. "Like biology."

"What's so creepy about biology?" Saeran piped up.

"A lot," both MC and Yoosung answer at the same time.

"So many bones," Yoosung's horrified whisper sounded much too loud in the now quiet room.

"So many preserved organs," MC whimpered. V could almost hear the disturbed expressing she had to have had on her face.

"Is it really that bad?" Zen cautiously asked.

"Let's put it this way," MC said. "There's an entire building on campus that reeks of formaldehyde."

"And it is so very strong," Yoosung added.

"If it's so strong, how do you survive it?" Zen teased.

"Oh, various ways!" MC chirped.

"I douse myself with cologne!" Yoosung said.

"You douse yourself," Jumin sighed. The sound of skin smacking skin rang out, and V assumed his childhood friend had smacked himself in the face in exasperation.

"How much cologne exactly?" Jaehee asked. Something began swishing slowly, and V guessed that it was her giant cup of coffee.

"A bottle and a half," MC answered for the blonde. "It's so strong you can smell it half a kilometer away!"

"It really is, and it helps block that awful stench!" Yoosung proudly told them all.

"Some of us hug him to get the smell on ourselves," MC mumbled.

"This has got to be a joke," Saeran grunted.

"Look," Yoosung huffed. V heard a shuffling sound, a phone clicking open, and a strangled grunt of confusion.

"What the hell is that?" Saeran hissed.

"MC koala hugging me to get the smell of chemicals out of her clothes and nose," the blonde answered. "We stayed like that for almost two whole hours."

"You're kinda tiny compared to him," Zen teased.

"If I didn't have these drugs in my system I'd throw something at you," MC growled.

"Oh, and this is when some of my classmates wanted to smell better!" Yoosung announced.

"They all just piled on you," Saeran said.

"It was very fun, I was warm," MC giggled.

"I'd love to see that," V chuckled.

"You will someday, Jihyun!" MC told him. "You could even get it the day after my surgery!"

V hummed but didn't answer. Being honest, he now wanted the surgery. He wanted to see his friend's faces again, and see MC for the first time. But, not now. He couldn't bring himself to see her hooked up to some machine as she recovered. He couldn't bring himself to see what he had indirectly caused. He'd rather wait until she was discharged to have his eyes repaired. At least then, he'd never have to see such a kind person in such a horrible state. He shook his head despite the loud whine MC let out.

"I'd rather get it after you leave here, Mi-ran," he told her.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I don't want to taint the image of the angel Saeyoung put in my mind," V told her. He smiled and leaned forward a bit more to brush his head against her side. MC was hotter than she had been before, and the blue haired man could only assume she was embarrassed by his words.

"Saeyoung what the hell have you been telling people!" She hissed at him.

"That there's an angel with clipped wings I need to visit and take care of!" The man squealed. The bed rocked as Saeyoung suddenly yelped and disappeared. Saeran's grumbling was very prominent in contrast to his now quieter brother.

"Idiot brother shut up once in a while," Saeran barked. He bid everyone farewell and forced his brother out the door, whom complained about not being able to kiss his beloved goodbye.

The room was quiet before Yoosung coughed and excused himself. Apparently the twins were his ride home and he couldn't let them leave without him. Jaehee and Zen followed close after, angrily ranting to her about how annoying Jumin was. Jumin himself left after bidding them both a good day.

"An angel with clipped wings," MC hummed gently. "I think I like that."

V laughed and reached out for her hand to squeeze it. The idea of the two of them being friends just him laugh even harder. A clipped angel and a blind photographer. Two people with conflicting attributes, and they were probably the closest friends in the world. The thought of considering MC as his new Sun crossed his mind for a moment before he shook it away. MC, Mi-ran, wasn't his Sun. She was his angel with clipped wings, watching over him and protecting him.


	5. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC and V talk about family.

"They're dating," MC said moments after Saeran and Yoosung left.

The two were visiting, though in Yoosung's case it was to catch MC up on their studies and study the new material with her. Saeran just accompanied Yoosung for seemingly no other reason than to leave his brother's bunker. It was almost a sort of tradition for V and MC to talk about whoever visited them, and today was no exception.

"They are not," V firmly said. Regardless, a smile played at his lips.

"Jihyun, Saeran was giving Yoosung this _look_!" She exclaimed, moving around excitedly. "The same look I've seen countless times in my many long years!"

"How old are you?" V asked playfully.

"Twenty, but that's beside the point," She answered. "I've seen more than my fair share of lovey dovey looks!"

"And you're _positive_ Saeran was looking at Yoosung in that way?" V leaned close dramatically, as if he wet seriously interrogating her.

"One hundred percent," MC answered back, as dramatically serious as she could be.

V let out a laugh. He could only imagine the giant grin on her face, wide and toothy. Her giggle filled the room alongside his own laugh. A sweet and gentle soprano mixed with his somewhat rougher baritone. It was a nice and beautiful sound.

"You know who _else_ I think have the hots for each other?" MC's voice teased.

"Who?"

"Zen and Jumin. Hey, I'm being serious here!"

"I'm sorry, Mi-ran," V snorted through his barking laughter. His body shook and his lung burned, a constant painful reminder of why he was in the hospital in the first place. "It was just so unexpected."

V heard MC huff. She was most likely pouting, cheeks puffed out and slightly pink. She noisily wiggled on her bed, humming to herself. It was a tune he hadn't heard before.

"So why do you think Jumin and Hyun like each other?" He asked.

"No one, _no one_ fights as much as they do or think about each other as much as they do without having deeper feelings," she said. Her tone carried the heaviness of an age old master. V couldn't keep himself from snorting and laughing again.

"Do you truly believe that those four could be happy like that?" He mumbled into the silence that followed his laughter.

"Jihyun, can I tell you something?" MC hummed.

"Go ahead."

"This last year has been just downright bad for the RFA as a whole," MC said. "Saeyoung uncovered the truth about Mint Eye, we were captured, you and I were shot. Everyone is still going through the shock of us nearly dying and Rika still being alive. Hell, Saeyoung _still_ hasn't adjusted to the fact his brother was brainwashed by her and subsequently shot the woman he fell for. He tells me all the time when you're not in the room. He's scared of losing me, losing _both_ of us, losing everything again. And he's told me more than once that everyone else feels similar."

"I didn't know that's how much they cared for us," V whispered. His words sounded lost even to him. He felt MC gently grasp at his hand. He smiled and let her hold it, splaying his fingers and tugging and bending them.

"Of course they do, Jihyun," she whispered. "They're our family."

Hot tears rolled their way down V's cheeks. MC let out a tiny sound of surprise and hastily began trying to wipe them away for him. He only chuckled and grabbed her flailing hands, holding them as gently as he could. Crying felt good. A release of the variety of emotions he'd been feeling the past some years. When was the last time he actually cried as hard and for as long as he was now? Too long, apparently. MC was whimpering in confusion. She was asking why he was crying and profusely apologizing for whatever it was she said.

"Mi-ran, calm down, I'm fine," he gently told her, sniffling a bit. "You just made me emotional is all."

"Is that a good thing?" She asked.

"It's a very good thing," V reassured her.

"You sure?"

"Very."

MC made some sort of noise. V wasn't sure just what it was exactly, but it sounded happy. It made him smile and more tears pricked his unseeing eyes. He reached for her hands again, groping empty air for a moment. MC giggled and thrusted her hands at his, playfully and happily intertwining their fingers together. She gave a squeeze and laughed, loud and happy, when he squeezed back.

"If the RFA is a family," V hummed. He lowered himself so that his head rested next to her side. A hand left his and threaded its way into his hair, playing with the now shoulder length locks. "What are everyone's roles?"

"Hmm," MC hummed back. "You and Jaehee are the parents, Zen and Jumin are the kids that are always arguing with each other over something, Saeyoung and Saeran are the twins that always get in trouble even if they didn't do anything wrong, and Yoosung and I are the little angels that always try to do good but get wrapped up in the twins' shenanigans."

"American television?" V asked. He personally didn't watch soap operas or dramas of any kind - his own life had more than enough drama to last a hundred seasons - but he knew that American comedy shows had some strange, strange plots and themes.

"Yea," MC confirmed. "Although I've never seen a show that has all of that at once."

V chuckled. He could imagine it. Him and Jaehee, though not romantically involved in any way, shape, or form, running around a house chasing down smaller versions of his friends. Saeyoung and Saeran setting up countless little pranks over and over, Zen and Jumin wrestling with each other because of some petty problem, and MC and Yoosung standing the the middle of the chaos, innocence and confusion scrawled across their faces. It was an adorable image.

"If Zen and Jumin got married, do you think Jumin will take Zen's last name, or the other way around?" MC asked.

"Jumin Ryu," V answered, testing the name.

"It's got a certain ring to it," MC said. "It's not a _melodious_ ring, but it's _a_ ring."

"Hyun Han," V said.

"Okay, that actually sounds better," MC admitted.

"Those two are going to kill us if they find out what we're talking about," V laughed.

"Oh!" MC exclaimed, a hard giggle working its way out of her. "Saeran Kim!"

"No, no," V shook his head. It didn't flow right to him, and it was a bit off.

"Hmm, Yoosung Choi," MC said.

"Better, more fitting," V approved. Knowing Yoosung, if he wasn't marrying a girl, he'd rather take his husband's name. He was quite the submissive type, after all, even though he did have one hell of a possessive streak.

"Mi-ran Choi," MC whispered. It was most likely intended just for her ears, but it made V smile nonetheless.

"Beautiful," He told her, squeezing her hand. He laughed at the groan she gave him. "Now, let's go back to Jumin and Zen, because I cannot see _any_ feelings between them beside hatred and anger."

"I guess today's the day I make a blind man see," MC cheered as she delved into just how she saw their interactions and her reasonings for them caring for one another.

V only partially listened. He couldn't shake the warm idea of the RFA being an actual family, an actual family that was warm and happy together with one another. It was something too many members sorely lacked. It honestly seemed like only him, MC, and Yoosung were without extreme family issues. Rika was an obvious exception, though with her safe and sound in Alaska and recovering, she wasn't such an issue to Yoosung anymore. As MC continued with her extensive evidence on what she called "Juzen", V could only imagine the RFA as the sort of family MC had always seen on television, where they'd always be happy and together no matter the trials and tribulations. It was such a wonderful dream it was all he could see that night as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like these chapters are running on and away from me more and more


	6. Dark Thoughts Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC is taken away to surgery, and without her some disturbing thoughts occur to V.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yea, this wasn't gonna stay happy and cute for too long! Have some angst guys~!
> 
> Warning: The narrative switches from third person to 1st and then back to third around the middle-ish of the story. This is not a typo or an error

V let out a grunt. They had just taken MC in for her surgery, and from what he overheard from the nurses it may have only been the first of many. How often had he cursed his enhanced senses? The room was unbearably lonely without MC. Whether it was talking, breathing, laughing, anything, he'd grown very accustomed to her just being there. Her presence was always warm and inviting, and by now he supposed he craved having warmth by his side. The twins had already paid their daily visit earlier in the day, spending time with them until MC was wheeled out of the room. They left soon after, not wanting to keep V any company.

Jumin never visited unless someone dragged him along. Zen made a point of visiting once a week if he could, and if he couldn't he called. He loved to talk about what shows he's gotten, how well his practices are going, asking them for help reading the lines. Jaehee visited about once every other week for only a few minutes at a time. Yoosung visited sporadically and usually with the twins. He studied with MC on whatever subject he managed to bring with him that day and traded stories with her.

But no one would be visiting for the rest of the day. MC wouldn't be back until late in the night, and she would be so drugged up that she would sleep until noon the next day. For that time, V would be alone with his thoughts. All the good ones and all the dark ones. And right now, all the negativity he had pushed away was now assaulting his mind.

It was cold without anyone in the room with him. Cold and sterile. He wanted to run and scream, just to have someone in the room, anyone to keep the thoughts at bay. He wanted MC back.

**_Why are you betraying Rika?_ **

What? No, no he wasn't betraying Rika in the least! He was allowed to have friends, and MC, Mi-ran, was just a friend!

**_You care about her, not in the way a friend cares about her._ **

That's true. But he didn't love her. Not in the same way he loved Rika. He loved Mi-ran as a sister, nothing more!

_**Liar.** _

No, V is not a liar. Not anymore. He would never lie by omission again.

**_You're still lying._ **

No he is not!

**_Liars like you should be dead, why are you not dead, Liar?_ **

No, he isn't a liar. Stop saying that!

**_No wonder Rika hurt and left you, you're weak and worthless._ **

That... That isn't true either. Mi-ran, Mi-ran always said that he was one of the strongest men she ever met, that his worth was priceless to the RFA.

_**She lied to you, they all lied to you.** _

Mi-ran isn't a liar!

**_Yes she is, they are all liars, you only deserve lies like the traitor you are!_ **

Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!

_**You should have your eyes torn from your face, you don't deserve anything but pain and torture and eternal hatred!** _

No... Yes, of course he does but no, no he doesn't!

_**You need to die. Go walk outside and get hit by something.** _

No, he.... Mi-ran and the RFA, they all need him still... He can't die yet.....

_**Just find the nearest sharp thing and stab yourself, stab out your eyes, stab up your arms, bleed everywhere to atone for betraying your love!** _

No, shut up! I won't do it!

**_Do it!_ **

Never!

_**What would Rika think of you now? What would she think of the Sun she worshipped and loved so much? What would she think of you betraying her for some lowlife nothing girl that should be just as dead as you should be!** _

You leave Mi-ran out of this! She's done nothing but help all of us!

_**She wants you dead. She regrets saving your pathetic self.** _

N-No..... no she doesn't..... does she...?

_**She does, and she can't wait to see you destroy yourself for her. Like you should have done for your Rika, your beloved Rika, your soulmate since you met up in Heaven.** _

You're lying....!

_**Mi-ran will leave you to die cold and alone. They all will.** _

No they won't.... _no_....

The voice, the dark words didn't come back. V was panting heavily. His heart pounded against his ribs. His lungs burned painfully but he could ignore it. He wanted to scream and shout and beg the nurses to bring MC back. He wanted that warmth she always gave off. But, the only sounds that came out of him were strangled gasps and cries. He shuddered and stood, slowly making his way towards where he thought the door was. Fumbling with the knob he fell to the ground. He hiccuped and let himself drop to the ground, curling up into himself. Sweet wonderful nothing embraced his mind as his body gave out and he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason V passed out at the end is because this whole conversation was draining the hell out of him, and he was already really damn tired beforehand. In addition, these are the thoughts he regularly represses and tries to forget. He genuinely believes all those words but has been trying to get better and get help. 
> 
> Also, yes, there will be a tiny bit more V suffering before the happiness fully takes hold.


	7. Dark Thoughts Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC has some time to herself and lets her mind wander.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated! I've been dealing with returning to my classes and I've had to focus on that! Please enjoy MC's dark thoughts (oh wow that sounds really fucked up im just gonna leave this here now bye bye!)

MC whimpered in sadness. She hated how barren her room felt. According to the doctors, the surgery was a success and her heart was almost fully repaired. She half wanted to go up to the mass of stem cells they had and thank it for saving her life. But that couldn't diminish the fact that her room was pretty damn empty. They'd taken the machine away after they were positive her heart was fine, and only the heart monitor remained.

At some point while she was gone, V apparently had some kind of breakdown. They'd found him passed out on the floor of her room. He was in a room on a higher floor, with more monitoring than she thought a hospital was capable of. The idea of him not being in the room bothered her.

She was a person that needed company. Constant company. Be it from a phone or an actual person, MC needed the stimulant of companionship. The next time Saeyoung visited, she had half a mind to ask him to stay with her until she left. Her mind drifted at that.

She knew V had some dark thoughts. She had them too. Sometimes she let "what ifs" plague her. What if she had died? What if V had died? What if they had both died? What if Rika wasn't ill? What if, what if, what if. Those two words had almost become a mantra.

What if I'm not enough?  
What if they all hate me?  
What if they find out about what I've done?   
What if they reject me?   
What if they hurt me?

MC never liked the idea of being rejected. Or hurt. She could handle someone finding out her dark secrets, no problem. Rejection she couldn't. She never knew why, she just couldn't. It might've been why she did what she did. The need to feel accepted by someone was so overwhelming that it drove majority of her actions.

"If you want in, you gotta do this."

The words a former friend had told her. Beat the ever loving crap out of some stranger, and you'd have friends for life. Now, she didn't go through with that thank god. Her sisters talked her out of it and the whole family moved in less than a day afterwards. Gangs were, and still are, extremely serious business back there.

"You're not cool if you don't take risks."

The risk being that she very nearly died jumping off of a thing. She couldn't remember what it was. She just knew that she nearly died and her family yelled at her for it.

MC could live with them finding out about the things she did back then. Secrets don't always stay secret, she knew that. But, to be rejected because of those? She could not handle the idea at all.

Which is what confused her with V. Her and Jihyun had become the bestest of friends during their year at the hospital. He grounded her, helped her feel accepted and wanted and needed. The others did too, of course, but V was more of a constant in her life at this point. He never judged her about anything she did, he never would have rejected her. It was wonderful and she loved it.

It was more than unhealthy. Her desire to be accepted by others no matter what she did is what landed her in the damn hospital in the first place. What left her with half a heart that needed to be restored with stem cells. She was fucking shot for Christ's sake! All to protect, and gain acceptance from, someone she barely even knew for a couple of weeks.

But she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop the thoughts plaguing her day and night. "If I'm not worth something to them, then there's no need for me to be around". More than once she found herself thinking those thoughts, felt her fingers twitch with anticipation. Anticipation for what? She didn't know. She just knew that her body, her subconscious, was expecting something. She was prepared for whatever it was.

MC stirred in her bed, flopping almost useless limbs about in an attempt to entertain herself. Saeyoung had her phone. She hadn't been able to participate in any chats for the duration of her stay in the hospital. There's wasn't a TV in the room. She found it weird, considering that every time she went to a hospital back in the U.S there's was a TV in the room. She missed noise. She missed listening to the drone of V's voice as he went on about something or other. MC never really focused on what he said. It was hard to remember the words of Korean that poured from his lips. It was hard trying to remember the right things to say, and in what way. She figured she'd been saying things right. They didn't sound right to her ears.

Her mind was all over the place.

Nothing was there to ground her. Thoughts shifted from one topic to the next in nanoseconds. Fragments of ideas and words rushed by her as she decided to try sleeping. The idea of ripping the tubes from her body, letting her blood soak the bed and sheets, came to her suddenly. No one would care if she did it, right? Let her blood flow everywhere. Let her hurt. She deserved it for being weak and useless. She saved one person, yes, but. But she couldn't save everyone she couldn't please everyone.

Her fingers brushed up against one of the tubes. It was almost black in the darkness of her room. For a moment she just rubbed the sturdy plastic, admiring how smooth it was. It was nice.

With one swift motion, she freed the tubing and let the blood drizzle to the floor. Her own wound cried out in anguish. Her mind went hazy and she couldn't remember just why she'd done it. Was it because she felt useless and unloved? Was it because she was too afraid to face them after having done something so stupid? They were only being so kind because she was in the hospital, after all. Upsetting her now would only hamper her progress. Was it because she wanted the embrace of death that had escaped her for so long? There was no reason for what she did. She just wanted to, there was no underlying reason. That was the only thing she could think of. That's what she'd tell them when they came by to yell at her.

She desperately wanted V back. He'd just tell her how happy he was to have her as a friend, make her feel warm and happy for a few moments. Maybe he'd try replacing her tubes and gently chastise her. Maybe he'd join her, too ashamed of what he'd done to the RFA to face them as well.

The strangled noise of a nurse screaming filled her ears as the haziness consumed her, blotting out her thoughts. Figures whizzed by like bullets as they worked to keep her alive. It was interesting to watch. She would have to tell Jihyun about it when she got to see him again. The blurry figures trying to save her life, not knowing they should've let her die. It'd make an interesting story.


	8. Constant Consistent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zen and Jumin visit MC after her attempted suicide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry the updates are t coming as fast as they should! School is really kicking my ass right now, but I'll be able to update on a more consistent basis soon!

It wasn't a pretty situation. V had a sort of break, something that made him extremely silent and almost unresponsive. MC, meanwhile, had ripped out the tubing in her arm. She had tried _killing_ herself, and the only explanation she gave was a shrug. It bothered Zen way, way more than it probably would others.

V was like a father to him. The man saved his life for crying out loud! He owed him a huge debt that would never be repaid in full. And to think that after all this V still had his head together, he'd be a fool to believe that. It seemed as though the whole " _Rika leading an insane cult to brainwash the world into happiness and she was mentally ill and hurt Saeyoung's brother and blinded him_ " ordeal took more out of him than originally thought.

And for MC to try killing herself not even a full day after? It was just a heart breaking situation. They could figure out why V lost it for a moment. The crap he went through broke him. They couldn't at all figure out why MC had tried taking her life. Apparently, Saeyoung had reached out to her family, and the only one to respond was her father. It was just a short sigh and "we'll be there soon". His phone had been blowing up with texts from numbers he didn't recognize, too. Most were in English, and from what little he could read they weren't happy texts. The only ones he could actually read were fairly calm if worried.

"God damn it," he sighed. Zen leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

"I would very much rather he bless us," a low voice rumbled next to the silver haired man.

"Point taken," Zen replied. He sighed again and closed his eyes. "How's she doing?"

"She is better than she was before," Jumin told him. "She seemed confused and scared when I asked why she did it."

"Her head wasn't in the right place, I doubt she really even remembers doing that," Zen said.

"Saeyoung hasn't left," Jumin quietly noted. Zen could only let out a hum of acknowledgement.

Saeyoung had refused to leave the hospital since the incident. He had been stuck by his beloved's side, barely even sleeping, fear eating away at his heart. He only ever really slept when someone else was in the room. The red head was going to worry himself into a bed himself soon. Zen couldn't blame him. The man nearly lost her to his brother, and his lover just had a successful surgery. To see that she nearly killed herself, out of the blue for no real reason, it'd be a miracle if he was calm and composed.

"You're thinking too deep, aren't you?" Jumin sighed.

"Can't help it."

"I know."

A warm hand wrapped around his own. A smirk tugged at his lips and he squeezed it. Jumin chuckled and laced their fingers together. It was comforting. Their hand holding wasn't romantic, not fully. It was just a sign that someone was there with them, an anchor. _"I'm here for you and with you"_.

"Hey guys," Saeyoung's weary voice called out to them. They quickly snatched their hands back to their sides.

"What's up?" Zen leaned forward in his seat.

"Her family is here," he yawned. His back let out a loud crack as he stretched. "I'm gonna go meet up with them, keep an eye on her for me."

Zen and Jumin wasted no time in heading to her room. MC was staring up at the ceiling, giving them a tiny wave when she heard them enter. The tubing was more securely in her flesh now. Her arms had been strapped down to the bed, most likely by Saeyoung himself since he refused to let the nurses keep her pinned.

"There's a hundred and fourteen pores in the ceiling," she told them, eyes still glued to the ceiling. "At least that's as many as I could see and count."

"That's interesting," Zen sighed. He plopped down into the chair Saeyoung normally occupied, glancing over at Jumin who simply continued standing near the doorway.

"Jumin, find a seat, you'll hurt yourself if you stand too long," MC whined out to him.

"Why did _you_ hurt yourself?" The director asked.

"Right to the point, blunt as usual," Zen half heartedly growled at him.

" _I told you_ , I don't really know why," MC said, shrugging. "It's all just, a _haze_ , a fog I can kinda see past but can't really make out anything in it."

"Do you think it was brought on by V?" Zen asked her. Once again MC just shrugged.

"I don't have any answers for you, Zen," she told him with a sigh. "It just _happened_."

Jumin made a noise of dissatisfaction. Zen just waved at him dismissively. MC sighed and squirmed, asking where Saeyoung went. She somehow got on a tangent about television shows and how they can relate to life. Zen just let her talk. Occasionally she stopped speaking in Korean and slipped into something else. He wasn't really paying attention to what she said anyway.

At some point Jumin had joined him, standing just behind them. A warm hand was on his shoulder rubbing soothing circular patterns against his skin. MC was staring at them with the biggest grin on her face.

"When do you think Jihyun will visit me?" She asked them, grin still plastered on her lips. "I really miss him."

"The doctors don't want you two seeing each other for a while," Jumin told her. His voice was devoid of any emotion towards the matter.

" _Why?_ " MC wasn't saddened. She wasn't scared. Not even curious. _Fury_ laced her voice, dripping off her tongue like boiling acid. Zen took notice of how that happy grin had so suddenly disappeared.

"You're both too dependent on one another," Jumin said. His voice was colder than the frozen planes of hell itself. "You need time apart."

"Tell them to let V visit me," MC's tone dropped. Zen felt Jumin tense up, fingers beginning to dig into his shoulder.

"Why should I?" Came the challenge.

"Because without V I don't have _constant company_ , and without constant company I feel _lost_ and _hated_ and _rejected_ , and that leads me down dark paths that end up with me _like this!_ " MC snarled at him. She pulled on her restraints as hard as she could to demonstrate just what she meant.

Zen hurt. He hurt badly. They'd been so focused on trying to make sure V wasn't suffering much from his breakdown that, they never really considered what MC's state of mind could have been. A part of him wanted to know just what dark paths her mind usually followed after bouts of loneliness.

"You can't see V," Zen said. "Not as often as you used to."

MC glared at him. It was clear to him that she felt betrayed; he never agreed with Jumin, and he just now decides to start? Anger and a bit of sadness swam in her eyes, yet he could also sense a hint of smug satisfaction about her.

"You are too dependent on each other," he continued. A grin spread across his face. "So instead of being with _each other_ all the time, _the RFA_ will take shifts to make sure neither of you are ever alone!"

Saeyoung very nearly killed the actor. He had walked in just a few seconds after Zen's announcement, and he'd panicked at hearing the squeal MC let out. It hardly calmed him down that she was happily babbling to him about what Zen had told her. Saeyoung only huffed, agreed with him, and went about untying her arms. MC hugged him best she could once her arms were free. The sound of a tiny, chaste kiss was heard for a moment before the loud flop of MC's body striking her bed.

"Pardon us," the voice of a man came.

Zen immediately stood and moved aside with Jumin as a rather well built man walked into the room. He was Korean, with hair as dark as the void of space, yet his eyes were a bright brown, almost amber color. A woman followed him. She was a head or two smaller than him, with long chestnut colored hair and dark chocolate eyes. She wasn't Korean, and Zen's only guess was that she was of European descent. Three young women followed her, as well. One was blonde with blue eyes, one a redhead with striking green eyes, and the last one with dark hair like the man, sharing her eye color with MC and the man, but having tanned skin.

"Sorry to intrude," the woman quickly said. Her accent was obvious, even more obvious than MC's. "We're Mi-ran's family."

"Your name is Mi-ran?" Zen looked over at her. When she nodded he made a choking sound. "Why do you go by MC then?"

"I don't like people using my actual name, and they judged me for it a lot," she mumbled.

"Your name is so pretty!" He told her. The man, her father, let out a laugh at him.

"That's what I tell her, she just doesn't listen!" He said.

It was like that for a while. Jumin and Zen were introduced to MC's family, the Chuns. Her father was Eo-Jin, a businessman. Her mother was Emma, a former businesswoman that chose to become a stay-at-home mom. Next were her sisters. The oldest was the blonde named Elizabeth, and the second oldest was the redhead named Nicole. The youngest was the dark haired tanned girl, Taylor.

"Zen!" MC cried out, just as her family was starting to get cozy beside her.

"Yea?"

"You are gonna make sure you're always around, right?" She asked.

"We'll _always_ be around," he told her in confirmation. He didn't even need to look back to know Jumin had agreed with him. "I promise."

The last thing he heard as him and Jumin left the little family to their own devices was the excited and unabashedly joyous squeals and laughter from their friend. A warm smile made its way onto Zen's face as him and the director began their ascent up to V's room.


	9. Saeran and MC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saeran babysits MC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the quality of this chapter. It's kinda crappy and I know that. I'm just bogged down with schoolwork and I'm running low on creativity, I'll be back with a much better chapter soon

Saeran disliked the hospital. He always felt suffocated in there, it was just _too_ clean and spotless. It was sterile, but he would rather call it _dead_. He hated it. It wasn't better that _there were actual dead people all around the damn building_. And just _why_ , exactly, was he here?

Well, it was a mix of reasons. Firstly, he was there for his weekly session with the doctors. A quick evaluation, some questions, blood and urine tests, and then they'd either clear him to have refills on some of his pills or completely get off some. Those visits he didn't mind. They were quick and simple and easy.

The second reason he was even in the hospital was his stupid brother's stupid fiancée. To begin with, she took a shot meant for that damn blue haired traitor and nearly died. Then she got heart surgery and tried taking her own life after that traitor wasn't allowed to see her. It was stupid, and his brother was stupid for loving her. Well, he was stupid for a lot of reasons, honestly.

Like leaving him in the room with her. Alone. Where she was _vulnerable_. He could so easily kill her and hurt his brother. She was weak enough that she wouldn't be able to fight back, and even then he was pretty sure she'd thank him. A pillow, maybe. He could totally just wring her throat with his bare hands. Hell, he could just cut the lines and let her die without the fluid needed to help her recover.

But he didn't want to do that.

He felt _bad_ for her. MC, Mi-ran Chun. He'd only learned her full name a few days ago, and already he wished he hadn't. Knowing someone's full name made it a bit harder to hurt them. Made them more of a person in a way, made him associate with them more. Soon, her name would be Mi-ran Choi, and he'd associate with her even more. He'd care about her more. MC genuinely pissed Saeran off.

And now, now she earned his attention.

MC had been tugging at her restraints mindlessly. It wasn't even much of a struggle, just the repeated motion of moving her arms up and down over and over. She wasn't looking at anything in particular. Her gaze was fixed on the ceiling but her eyes had gone dull.

"You ever think if there's something out of our grasp?" MC asked in the silence of the room.

"Don't get all philosophical on me, wretched woman," Saeran snarled.

"I have been left alone with wandering thoughts for a week straight," she told him, a tiredness to her own snarl. "I got bored."

"Yea well shut it," Saeran huffed.

"Do you remember when my last dosage of medication was given?" She asked.

"Around half an hour ago."

"Thank you."

He hated her. He wanted her dead. At the same time, he wanted to see if she thrived. If she'd take this experience and persevere through all the pain inside her. He wanted to know how hard she'd fight fate itself to reach her happy ending. And her continued fighting, survival, pissed Saeran off.

"Why aren't you dead?" He blurred out bluntly.

"Hell if I know," MC grunted. " _Apparently_ getting a bullet through the heart isn't trying hard enough."

Saeran snickered at that. It was darkly funny, as if she didn't find having her heart literally torn in half to be a horrific and terrifying thing. If his stupid brother was there, he'd admonish her for saying such a thing.

Saeyoung was so in love with her, and she him. Sometimes it didn't make sense to Saeran. He was stupid and annoying, and she was stupid too but wasn't nearly as bad as him. And if she even loved him, why would she care so little about if she lived or died? Wouldn't it make more sense if she fought harder just to be with him still?

As MC stopped tugging at her restraints, a thought came to Saeran. MC didn't really have a fight in her. Everything at this pint had to be solely for the benefit of everyone around her. She truly didn't care if she lived or died, so long as she could make people happy.

That was the only explanation the younger Choi twin could come up with. As his brother entered the room and brushed his nose with his beloved's, Saeran could only think one think.

"I hate that I care about this stupid idiot woman."


	10. Hiatus

I'm sorry guys, but I'm gonna put this on hold for a little bit. The newest chapter is coming, don't worry about that, but creatively I'm dry atm. But chapter 10 will be coming soon, I promise that! 


	11. Everything is Going to be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung pays MC a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yo I'm still alive! I bring to you Chapter 10, at long last!

"No."

The response was blunt. Yoosung could only smile and slowly push the text book closer to MC.

"No."

"You have to!" The blonde whined.

"I also have to take medicine that numbs the ever loving crap out of my body to make sure I don't try killing myself again," she growled. "I refuse to do anything against my will ever again."

"It's just biology!" Yoosung yelled.

"Do you not remember the arthropod unit?" MC shouted back, squirming about in her bed. "Those demonic eyes, the cephalothoraxes!"

"At least I'm not shoving pages full of medication and scientific words in your face!" The blonde said.

"Yoosung that is exactly what you're doing!" She whined. MC huffed and turned away from her friend, pouting.

"MC, please," Yoosung groaned. He was tired, a long day of tests had preceded his visit to the hospital, and he just wanted her to stay up to speed on their studies. It was a simple request, c'mon damn it!

And it wasn't like she had much time. The university was beginning to think about suspending her education, and with that gone there was a chance she'd be sent back to America. RFA benefited so much from her. Yoosung would be damned if he let them fall into disarray because of V's stupidity.

"I can see the steam rising out of your ears, Yoosungie," MC hummed. It was slightly teasing, but that's just how he found her to be. Somewhat teasing, but always with the best intentions at heart.

"SKY's thinking about suspending you," he told her. "I don't want that."

"If they do, it'll be fine."

"How?!" Yoosung shouted. He dropped the textbook, ignoring how it crashed with a loud thump and made MC jump in surprise. "The university is the only reason you're even in Korea!"

"Like I said, things'll be fine, even if I get suspended," she said with what had to be both the calmest and most devilish smile the blonde student had ever seen.

"How do you figure." It wasn't a question or a demand. It was barely a statement. If anything it had to be a challenge. That's what he thought. Yoosung was challenging her to prove how anything could be considered fine right now.

"You'll see," MC answered. Her grin never left her lips. Yoosung would've lying if he said that he hadn't once imagined kissing them. He'd be lying now if he said he didn't want to kiss them at that moment.

Yoosung found it pathetic he was imagining kissing his best friend, his best friend's fiancé. She wasn't in love with him, and she never would be. The pain of realization settled in his heart, making it thump painfully. Yoosung shook himself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

MC's grin was still plastered on her face. Her eyes had darkened, the same way as when she was thinking up something devilish. Yoosung's breath caught in his throat and he had to force himself to breath again. MC was pretty smart, she had to be to get into SKY University. Yoosung had seen the victims of her intelligence. Someone had crossed her once, and she had viciously ruined their mind. Yoosung wasn't sure what she did, "her little secret Yoosungie~", but that student had literally broken down and screamed in terror before running off campus. They were better now, of course, but they had remained pretty cautious and wary around the foreign student.

"Everything is gonna be fine, you just gotta wait and see," MC hummed. Her grin grew, and Yoosung briefly thought he was looking in the maw of a bloodthirsty animal.

"Yea," Yoosung said. He shuffled in his seat and grabbed the book, gently setting it next to her. He grabbed his bag and stood to leave. As he slipped past the door, MC's predatory grin and gaze burning into his back, he mumbled out "Everything's gonna be fine."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MC is concocting a plan. Will SKY kick her out, or will she find a way to stay with the RFA? What IS her plan, anyway?? Stay tuned, all this and more in the next chapters!


	12. Self Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung confronts V about MC's plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely not one of my best chapters. But hang tight, there's still more to come (specifically more V suffering)!

V wasn't expecting visitors so soon. Jumin was going to be visiting after work, sometime around six, and Zen was scheduled to visit a few hours after. No one was scheduled to visit at, what, noon? Regardless, V warmly greeted his visitor.

He hadn't expected the vicious acid-laced growl that greeted him back.

"What is she planning?"

Ah, Yoosung. Hostile as always. V smiled and waved in the general direction of the door. Even if the blonde didn't like him, or if he believed V was the true mastermind behind Mint Eye, the cyan haired man didn't hold any anger towards him. Yoosung was just the emotional sort. He couldn't willingly believe his beloved cousin was mentally ill and was the head of a cult.

"What is who planning?" V asked him. He did not expect to be yanked forward, did not expect the burning hot breath that rushed against his face. He could feel Yoosung wishing absolute death on him. He hadn't even heard Yoosung get near his bed.

"Don't fool around," Yoosung growled. It reminded V of when he'd accidentlly spilled water on Elizabeth 3rd. Something usually soft and fluffy and sweet, suddenly a ball of anger and hatred with the burning desire to slaughter everyone and everything.

Only Yoosung was much, much bigger than a snarling house cat. And Yoosung was much stronger than one. V flinched back when Yoosung tugged him closer.

"What is MC planning!" Yoosung just about roared in his face. V wanted to whimper in fear and hide. Yoosung yelling at him reminded him a bit of Rika. Someone sweet he loved and cared for deeply, attacking him in some form for something that he never truly did or never truly understood.

"Mi-ran is planning something?" He questioned. V was being sincere. He hadn't had contact with Mi-ran at all since his episode, and they most certainly didn't have telepathic communication.

"You know she is!" Yoosung flung V back into his bed. "She's planning something so that she stays in Korea!"

V gasped and tried to get out of his bed. He had no idea exactly which floor he was on, no one would tell him, and he didn't know his way around it yet. That didn't stop his burning need to rush to his friend and make sure she was still alive. Yoosung had snatched him by the back of his hospital gown, either he was getting a lot lighter or Yoosung had been working out, and held him in place.

"Explain," Yoosung ordered.

"Yoosung, Mi-ran is a self destructive person!" V told him. He winced at the unbridled fear lacing his tone.

"How would you know!" The blonde snarled.

"Because Saeyoung told me."

_"She's super prone to doing stupid stuff, doctors say she's got a self-sacrificial mindset. She describes it as just wanting to make others like her."_

_"So she is a self destructive person?"_ Perfect candidate for Mint Eye, she won't oppose anything.

_"Yea except, apparently there's a history of self harm. Says she did it solely because it would keep her in one place. File states she's pretty willing to do that again."_

_"I see, thank you Luciel."_

_"V, I don't think someone like her should be with us. If she's willing to hurt herself for a stupid reason, imagine what she's willing to do in a serious situation."_

_"I feel as though she will be a great asset to us. If she cares deeply enough to be willing to do such a thing, then she is someone worth keeping around."_

_".... If you say so."_

"She's so willing to die for us, Yoosung!" V choked out, squirming viciously in the younger man's hold. "Call Saeyoung now, let him know, make sure she is safe!"

The blue haired man collapsed to the ground. Whimpers fell from his lips as he listened to Yoosung rush out of the room. Thoughts of MC attacking a nurse or a doctor to grab a weapon flooded his mind. A wail began to bubble out of him, though he cut it off before it fully left him. He didn't want MC hurt. He already felt guilty that she'd tried taking her own life because of him. Slowly V made his way back to his bed, sinking into the somewhat decent material of the mattress. His heart hammered in his chest as he begged whatever god still wanted to listen to his pathetic pleas to keep MC safe from herself. 


	13. Hiatus

I'm sorry, everyone. For now, Heart Beats is going on hiatus, and I'm not sure when I'll be back to finish it up. Finals are next week, I'm incredibly stressed and unfocused, and I just got really upsetting news that's pretty much killed any real drive I have to do anything. Again, I'm incredibly sorry I'm not working on this series and updating regularly, things in my life aren't allowing me the time or the ability to write anything near good enough for you guys.

 

When I can, I'll come back with a really good chapter, I promise.


End file.
